Exciting times lie ahead as we bid farewell to subways and buses, as 12 U.S. cities have rolled out fully driverless robot taxis. The sci-fi dream of robot taxis transporting passengers everywhere is now becoming a reality, transforming the public transportation era completely. Alphabet-owned Waymo seems to be leading the way forward and will be expanding this robotaxi service to 12 U.S. cities by 2026. While the question about safety looms large as autonomous vehicles take over our roads, the hope is that this form of transportation will change the way we move and make the transition all the more interesting.
Waymo is said to make an appearance in 12 U.S. cities
The latest announcement by Waymo shared that completely autonomous taxis would be making a debut on November 3 in Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego. While this may be good news for these 3 cities, Waymo is expecting to be available in about 12 cities by next year. In 2026, Waymo will have these robot taxis operating in Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
While the idea was that Waymo’s plans for 2026 were just to expand its fleet offering to more cities, the company’s co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, said that the goal is to offer about 1 million trips weekly. This is an achievable goal for the forward-thinking company, as the company is already logging in 25,000 rides per week.
The rollout to the 12 cities follows a regular pattern. Firstly, safety mapping takes place, supervised driverless testing is conducted, and a final launch is approved through the Waymo App or Uber. Waymo has formed a strategic partnership with Uber. In Las Vegas and beyond, citizens are convinced of the safety of these Robotaxis.
Waymo is moving beyond the test tracks to the roads in America
While it does seem like smooth sailing now for Waymo, the journey to make a debut in different cities in America was not at all easy. The company spent more than a decade testing its self-driving system in Silicon Valley. Finally, such vehicles were ready to advance from the test tracks to the roads. The first robotaxi service was launched in Phoenix and thereafter in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
The engineers at the company state that the self-driving system enabled these types of taxis to adapt to new cities. The testing conducted on Waymo’s vehicles ensured that these taxis were improved to enable the “all-weather” driving capability. This driving capability of each Robotaxi is an excellent feature that enables the vehicle to be suitable for all climates in all the different towns and states.
Waymo is driving in a league of its own, with Tesla following behind
For now, Waymo seems to be dominating the streets as an autonomous taxi service provider in cities in America. However, the shift in transportation started by Waymo is not without challenges. With Tesla’s Robotaxi finally coming to America, it is clear that Musk has a plan for one state and many other states, too.
Zoox may have a different strategy from Waymo, but the company is also hot on Waymo’s heels. Zoox is testing steering wheel-free pods in Las Vegas currently. Nevertheless, Waymo’s lead is of great significance as well. Global expansion is on the cards for this company, and with its partnership with Uber, the company is surely going somewhere.
Waymo is set to reinvent the way that we travel
With laws being put forward for self-driving cars as we know them, it may seem like driverless rides are under serious scrutiny. Nevertheless, thus far, no rules have been created for these autonomous vehicles. A Robotaxi revolution may be too far away to envision; however, since Waymo’s taxi collection is expanding to 12 cities, the public transportation script is getting rewritten. While robot taxis may not cause public transport to vanish completely, they are offering citizens an alternate way to travel.
